What inspired you to write The Lonely Giant?

I had decided to go back to education and convert my existing Higher National Diploma [similar to an associate’s degree in the United States] in illustration to a degree so that I could retrain to teach. As a mature student with a young family, I found the illustration and animation degree at Kingston University really hard work but great fun. I realized I still loved illustration as much as ever, and in particular still felt a passion for children’s books. I knew I wanted to focus on writing and illustrating a picture book for my final project. It was a doodle in my sketchbook of a tough-looking character with a pet canary on his finger that inspired me to create the giant. The visual imagery of an enormous man who dominated his natural surroundings and a tiny yellow bird was great fun to draw. Once I had created the characters, I wanted to write the story and discover what the relationship could be between the giant and the bird.

Is the giant based on someone you know?

He isn’t really based on anyone (although I asked my husband to pose for some of the giant’s harder positions, such as hurling huge trees — he used a broom handle!). The giant changed considerably from the early sketches. I really wanted to develop a character with all the strength and power of a giant, but who could also be likable. He became less like a traditional giant and more of a cozy, warm character (aided by his love of a cup of tea!).

This is your first picture book. How did you bring the idea and illustration together?

I found that the process worked like a chain of events. First, I developed the main character. That inspired ideas for creating a rough outline of the story. Once I sort of knew how the story would go, I wanted to work on the character more and figure out how he would react in different settings. I drew endless mini scenes of the giant in sketchbooks. The story seemed to develop from there. Having said that, some of the pages I found very hard to write, and I came up with lots of different versions before feeling happy with the result. For example, I started writing “He plucked trees as though they were hairs on his head” and eventually changed that to “He pulled up trees as though they were weeds.” Apart from the fact that the words flowed better, the imagery that went along with the words was better.

SOPHIE AMBROSEAUTHOR Q & A

www.candlewick.com Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Sophie Ambrose

The original project that I created while I was at the university took three months from beginning to end, including all the artwork and a mock-up book. The story changed considerably for the better after that, once I was working at Walker with my lovely editor, Lizzie, and fantastic designer, Anne-Louise. We added animals to the story and made more of the woodland and animal scenes. The actual book took a further two years as well as two A2 layout pads, one A3 sketchbook, and three A4 sketchbooks. I’m a firm believer in the use of sketchbooks!

Is there any advice you would give to budding author-illustrators?

My first advice is keep a sketchbook. Jot down any ideas or quirky things you see around you. You never know where inspiration for your story may come from. I find that a story idea usually starts with a sketch, and once that sketch has started to blossom into an idea, words will start to flow. Other author-illustrators may find that the words come first — it’s a personal choice.

It’s very important to remember when writing a children’s book that the story is designed to be read aloud. Keep reading out loud everything you write, to others and to yourself. You will soon hear the parts of the story that don’t flow.

What has been your favorite part of the process so far, and why?

That’s a hard question, as I have enjoyed so much of it! It’s very exciting when an idea seems to click. It’s in your head, and you just want to draw it out. I always storyboard each version of the story on a single A2 page. What’s also good about drawing every page out is you can self-edit as you go along. Once you start roughing out a page, it usually becomes obvious whether an idea will work. Not always, though, which is why it’s fantastic to be able to work with an editor and designer. Often three heads are better than one, especially with such a solitary process as creating a book. I also enjoy the end process of creating the final artwork. I work traditionally with paint and pencils, and it’s at this stage that I have the radio on, drawing and painting, with plenty of tea to keep me going!

www.candlewick.com Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Sophie Ambrose